It hasn't been pretty, but the 49ers lead 17-6 after the first half of their home opener against the Giants.

The 49ers entered the game heavily favored to overcome the Giants, but have found New York a tough nut to crack across the opening two quarters.

But a Brock Purdy touchdown throw to rookie Ronnie Bell and a Christian McCaffrey rushing score helped put the 49ers by 11 at the half. Here are my observations from the opening half hour.

Purdy sped up by Martindale

Unsurprisingly for a defense coordinated by Wink Martindale, the Giants threw a lot of pressure in Purdy's direction in the first half, and it has had him uncomfortable.

Purdy was skittish and looked visibly sped up throughout the first half, with the 49ers quarterback fortunate not to throw an interception on the opening drive. On San Francisco's third scoring drive, he was extremely lucky not to be picked as a tipped ball ballooned into the air but into the grateful arms of Bell for a first down.

His numbers, 14 of 23 for 157 yards and a touchdown, do not tell the full story, with most of San Francisco's offensive rhythm coming courtesy of arguably the two most versatile weapons in the NFL.

CMC and Samuel lead the way

With a shoulder injury keeping leading receiver Brandon Aiyuk out of the game, there was always going to be a greater emphasis on McCaffrey and Deebo Samuel in this game.

So it proved as those diverse playmakers got a stalling 49er offense going on their first touchdown drive, each turning screen passes on third-and-long into first downs before Purdy found Bell in the corner of the endzone.

McCaffrey finished the first half with 87 yards from scrimmage and a rushing touchdown, giving him a score in the last 12 games including the postseason. Samuel meanwhile, had 43 yards on three receptions at the half, with their efforts helping San Francisco continually frustrate the Giants on third down. The 49ers were 7-10 on third down at the half.

Kinlaw's hot start continues

The 49ers went into 2023 hoping this would finally be the year former first-round pick Javon Kinlaw made a consistent impact.

Through 10 quarters, those hopes have been realized.

Kinlaw was excellent against the Rams last week and, though Nick Bosa and Javon Hargrave both had sacks, it was Kinlaw who generated the most evident disruption up front in the first half.

The 14th overall pick from 2020 does not have a sack since his rookie year. All signs point to that changing sooner rather than later.

Tony Gonzalez makes extremely bold prediction about Brock Purdy

Huge expectations to live up to.

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